Golfing, Soaking and Thinking

Winter Pastimes in Three Speeds

Serious golfers know that snow and cold are no excuse for letting their game go in the winter. Links-lovers never stop dreaming of the green, and the Boise Golf and Travel Show is here to jumpstart their fairway fever.

For two days, Saturday, Feb. 8-Sunday, Feb. 9, Expo Idaho plays host to nearly 70 exhibitors from around the country, ranging from gear vendors and trainers, to courses, resorts and industry organizations. The show also features a demo area, courtesy of Wide World of Golf; long drive contests; activities for young golfers; and more.

Tickets cost $12, which includes a free round at Eagle Hills Golf Course and a one-year subscription to either Golf Digest or Golf World. Doors are open Saturday, Feb. 8, from 9 a.m.-5 p.m., and 10 a.m.-4 p.m. Sunday, Feb. 9. Find more info at boisegolfshow.com.

If your idea of winter recreation has less to do with yearning for spring, but is still far from shredding in the mountains, Nampa Parks and Recreation might have an event that hits the sweet spot.

Mark your calendar for Friday, Feb. 21, when vans will depart from the Nampa Rec Center at 9 a.m., bound for Idaho City, where "active adults"--50 and older--can do a little snowshoeing followed by a soak at The Springs, a luxury hot springs spa off Highway 21 in the rugged Boise National Forest (see Play, Page 30).

Tickets run $45, including admission to the hot springs and an optional $10 snowshoe rental fee. Vans will return participants to the Nampa Rec Center at approximately 6 p.m. Get more info by calling 208-468-5882 or at nampaparksandrecreation.org. Want to skip the snowshoeing? Nampa Parks and Rec is planning another (all-ages) trip to The Springs for March 12.

A more contemplative event is slated for Wednesday, Feb. 12, when Boise State University hosts Duke University law professor Jebediah Purdy for a talk titled "After Nature: Living in the Anthropocene." Part of Boise State's Ideas of Nature lecture series, Purdy's presentation asks how we should approach the natural world now that human beings have altered it to such a degree that "there is no longer such a thing as a Nature that comes before us."

The event is free and doors open at 6 p.m. at the Boise State Student Union Simplot Ballroom. More info at scholarworks.boisestate.edu.